Synopsis

The Tennessee Public Health Association developed and delivered a Train-the-Trainer program for community leaders in northeast Tennessee on extreme weather impacts, preparedness, and resiliency, following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene.

Challenge

In 2024, Hurricane Helene impacted northeastern Tennessee in a way never seen before with incredible levels of rainfall, flooding, and subsequent landslides, destroying roads and bridges and isolating rural communities. This program was designed to train leaders in rural areas to educate and take action in their communities to develop extreme weather preparedness and resilience. Rural communities are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events, with their limited access to resources such as healthcare and emergency response.

Solution

Our program is a four-hour Train-the-Trainer workshop for community leaders in rural Tennessee. The Tennessee Public Health Association developed and administered the program in collaboration with public health agencies in northeast Tennessee.

The workshop was piloted on June 4, 2025, in Hawkins County, Tennessee. The curriculum included a training manual of five modules and a PowerPoint presentation for each module. The modules covered extreme weather science, projections, preparedness and resiliency, communicating about the health impacts of extreme weather events effectively, and best practices for training. Participants have access to all materials through a Google Drive. People completing the Train-the-Trainer workshop are now prepared to offer trainings on this topic in their own communities.

Results

For the pilot workshop, there were 18 participants from the Tennessee Department of Health, local health departments, community organizations, and emergency management. The workshop presenter discussed the modules and offered opportunities for the participants to discuss next steps. Participants discussed education initiatives, partnerships to establish, and other strategies to engage the community in resiliency efforts. To further promote this program, TPHA is offering a webinar in July 2025 to introduce the Train-the-Trainer program to public health practitioners across the state, and an abbreviated workshop will be presented at the TPHA annual conference in September.

Lessons Learned

Through this project, we learned that community leaders recognize the need to prepare for weather extremes and are ready to take next steps to help prepare their communities to be more resilient. This program can be replicated for other regions with current similar projections and with available resources specifically tailored for the community.

Contact Information

Dawn M. Ford, PhD
[email protected]
Tennessee Public Health Association, Tennessee